A golfer from Christina Lake has earned a berth in early-July’s B.C. Junior Boys golf championship in Courtenay.

Tanner Kopan, who qualified after finishing second in two tournaments last week (at Redstone Resort and the Rossland Trail Country Club), has been here before but says he’s still happy to make it to the provincials.

“I made the provincials last year too but this year just feels a bit better because I’m more in it this year and I have a better chance of winning it,” he said.

Kopan has been playing golf since he was three and honed his skills at the Cascade Par 3 golf course.

He says the nine-hole course helped him develop his strengths, which he says is his putting and chipping, his short game.

In fact, his short game helped him last week at the Redstone golf course tournament.

“I’ve never played the (Redstone) course before that round so I really didn’t know what to expect,” reminisced Kopan.

“I was hitting the ball down the middle and my approach shots were actually pretty tough and my putting was really saving me — the greens were rolling very nice and I was dropping a lot of putts over 15-feet.”

While his short game looks solid he would still like to make some improvements before July.

“Once I get more distance off the tee I think my scores will start coming down,” he said.

With the championships about six weeks away, Kopan wants to continue to improve his game, although he says he probably won’t be making any wholesale changes.

“Kevin Maffioli is going to help me with my swing just to make it top-of-the-line for the provincials and I’m just going to keep working on my game how I have been.”

Tanner does much of his present training at the golf course at Christina Lake and he discussed his regiment.

“When I go to train, I do a lot of putting and chipping, the practice green, my five-foot putt and all the way up to my light putt and then on the (driving) range, I’ll go through with my swing-training aid and hit balls at the targets,” he said.

While he hasn’t played at the Crown Isle Golf Club, where the provincials will be played, he does think he has a leg up.

“I’ve seen the (Crown Isle) course and it’s pretty similar to Christina Lake, so I think I’ll play pretty well.”